Quotes About Soccer

We are obsessed in England with the idea that we're not good enough at retaining the ball, and that our players treat it like a hot potato.

When we talk about Arsene Wenger, I like the fact that he focuses 80 percent about the style of play he wants for his team and not taking so much consideration into the other team.

I am not at all convinced by Pogba. He plays a lot in England - it's true - but I expected a lot more from him.

You have to cope with expectation if you want to play for England.

Everyone wants to beat Manchester United, but that's something that we are used to coping with.

I really like Ronaldinho. He is the player I have watched the most and tried to copy the most, but I am still learning.

Playing against Croatia would be a dream come true.

Ever since I was in the youth team at City, I've always loved crossing the ball.

The Everton goal was very important. It was the one that got us through, and it was great to go into the crowd and celebrate with the fans.

Liverpool are a very hard team to beat in front of their own crowd.

The AFC Asian Cup is the most important and biggest competition in Asia, and we should do our best to win it.

I played in three World Cups, and I would say that it was the last one that I enjoyed the most.

Growing up, you watch players like Ronaldinho playing in World Cups, doing the business, and you idolise these people.

I've played two World Cups. I've won the Champions League.

In England you probably have too many cups with the Champions League as it is now. You have the FA Cup and another cup; what's the point in that? Probably one cup should be more than enough.

I would say the youth systems in Germany have impressed me the most and how they grow their youth players into full professionals.

In Italy... people think that they can win matches with only systems. I say this is impossible because, otherwise, there wouldn't be players that cost 100 million euros and others who cost 1 million.

When you get onto the ball, people think three or four times before deciding whether to try and tackle you. Your opponents respect you, and your markers give you a couple of metres of space.

Never tackle, never go down, we've heard it over and over again. You have to try to keep Messi away from the goal and block him with multiple players while being as close to him as possible. He is too quick, too fast, too intense with the ball.

I don't think tackling is a quality. It is a recurso, something you have to resort to, not a characteristic of your game.

I remember that, often, Mike Phelan would just nip down to the touchline for a message to one or two players. It was usually just a tactical thing. But when Sir Alex comes to the touchline, all the players know that it's serious stuff.

On a tactical level the defensive midfielder in a 4-3-3 formation is just about the most demanding position there is.

In England, I have acquired more tactical knowledge and improved the speed of my decision making.

I got to learn the French tactical way and then learn from all these players who've been on the world stage for so long.